On 3 July 2024, the Independent Office of Evaluation of IFAD (IOE) held a virtual final workshop on the sub-regional evaluation on IFAD's experience in the Dry Corridor of Central America. The workshop was organized by IOE, in collaboration with the Latin America and the Caribbean Division of IFAD (LAC) and the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, the four countries involved in the evaluation.

The workshop discussed the evaluation’s conclusions and recommendations and provided an opportunity to analyse the strategic priorities for IFAD’s future programmes in the sub-region.

The event opened with welcome remarks and an introduction by Dr Indran A. Naidoo, IOE Director. Thereafter, a presentation detailing the evaluation’s main findings and recommendations was delivered by Fabrizio Felloni, IOE Deputy Director; Claudia Ranaboldo, IOE Senior Consultant; and Massiel Jiménez, IOE Evaluation Analyst. Remarks from IFAD Senior Management were provided by Rossana Polastri, LAC Regional Director, on behalf of Donal Brown, Associate Vice-President, Programme Management Department; by Ms Polastri in her own capacity; and by René Castro, Country Director for El Salvador and the Dominican Republic, LAC.

A panel of distinguished experts – comprising representatives of the government’s development partners, regional and international organizations, and producers’ organizations – shared their experience and reflections in a lively discussion, moderated by Mr Felloni. Key contributions were provided by: Lic. Manuel Antonio Martinez Guzman, Project Administrative Unit, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Honduras; Ileana Gómez, Senior Researcher, Regional Programme of Research on Development and Environment; Merling Preza Ramos, General Manager, Central de Cooperativas de Servicios Múltiples; and Oscar Quesada Madriz, Advisor to the Executive Management of the Central American Integration System. Questions from the audience were also addressed. The discussion opened the way for further exploration of how IFAD can enhance its performance in such contexts through the projects it supports.

The workshop ended with closing remarks by Dr Naidoo.

Sixty participants attended the event.